Abstract：Objective To investigate the expression of matrix metalloproteinase-1(MMP-1) and tissue factor pathway inhibitor-2(TFPI-2) in nasopharyngeal carcinoma(NPC),and to explore its correlation with the invasion and metastasis of NPC.Methods Immunohistochemical staining(MaxVision) was used to detect the expression of MMP-1 and TFPI-2 in 50 NPC tissues and 20 chronic nasopharyngitis tissues,and the relationship of MMP-1 and TFPI-2 expression to pathological and clinical features of NPC were statistically analyzed.Results Compared with chronic nasopharyngitis tissues,MMP-1 positive rate increased but TFPI-2 positive rate decreased in NPC tissues(78% vs 35% and 20% vs 85%,respectively;P<0.05).Furthermore,the higher expression of MMP-1 and lower expression of TFPI-2 were found in NPC tissues with cervical lymph node metastasis than those in NPC without lymph node metastasis(all P<0.05),and MMP-1 expression was negatively correlated with TFPI-2 expression(r=-0.490,P<0.05).Conclusion The higher expression of MMP-1 and lower expression of TFPI-2 are closely related to NPC with cervical lymph node metastasis.The imbalance of MMP-1 and TFPI-2 expression is an important factor inducing high metastasis of NPC,and may be used as a biological indicator in the metastatic assessment of NPC.
2012, Vol. 5 
